In an ongoing series that includes investigative stories from across the country, The Imprint reveals the breadth and depth of hidden foster care — the separation of hundreds of thousands of children from their parents by child welfare agencies, outside of the watchful eye of the courts.

The story of the Brucker family in Illinois. "I never thought that this was even humanly possible," says Sabra Brucker.

South Carolina officials responsible for the welfare of vulnerable children misled a family when they placed a teenage girl in the home of a Midlands photographer who later plied her with drugs, recorded her on hidden cameras and encouraged her to perform sex acts, according to two lawsuits and statements made in court.

Hidden foster care2 is an unregulated practice inconsistent with federal policy whereby a child protection agency — following an investigation and a child removal decision — facilitates the child’s move from the family to the care of kin (a relative or trusted community member) in lieu of seeking legal custody or providing economic or other supports.

At the center of the issue — and six federal lawsuits — are children who have already been failed by adults in their lives

Across the country, an unregulated system is severing parents from children, who often end up abandoned by the agencies that are supposed to protect them.

Across the country, an unregulated system is severing parents from children, who often end up abandoned by the agencies that are supposed to protect them.

Podcast discussing plans for rethinking child welfare, universal cell phone coverage for California foster youth, and another big experiment planned for the “colorblind” approach to foster care removal decisions featuring Josh Gupta-Kagan.